In 2016, shortly after the birth of my son, I began feeling pain…everywhere.
Arms, legs, back, torso, even my hands and feet. Not just pain, but stiffness, skin sensitivity and tenderness that made my body feel decades older than 35.

These were just some of the symptoms. I was a mum of three, to a newborn and five-year-old twins, with a husband building a demanding business. I expected exhaustion, of course. But I didn’t expect to feel this completely, bloody…awful.
And pain, constant pain, is tiring. It wears you down in a way nothing else does. The only time I wasn’t in pain, was when I was asleep.

I told myself it was just the baby phase. But it didn’t pass.

I had blood tests, MRIs, and endless examinations to rule out conditions like MS, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus. Even cancer.

Eventually, a private rheumatology consult pulled it all together and diagnosed Fibromyalgia.

What I’m about to share: chronic pain, my experience with Fibromyalgia, the brain-body science behind it - and in later series, other invisible conditions like Pelvic Congestion Syndrome and Endometriosis (which led to my hysterectomy at 42) - they’re the backbone of why I’m doing this at all.

It’s the story that changed everything for me.
 And I believe it will sound painfully familiar to more people than we realise.

About fifty percent of this feels uncomfortable.
It’s exposing. It’s personal. It’s talking about things that are easier to leave unsaid.

But I’m doing it anyway because this series, and everything I’m sharing on Instagram, is the culmination of what I’ve lived and learned while trying to help myself.

If it helps even a few others, every awkward moment is worth it.